Distance learning is difficult, nevermind the fact that class periods are only 75 minutes, Zoom glitches are inevitable, and WiFi troubles are apparent. Falling behind on academics is all too easy in the online environment. Luckily, the College Board came up with a creative solution: AP Daily. 

According to the college board website, “AP Daily videos are short on-demand segments led by expert AP teachers. The videos can help you cover all course content and skills and use class time for focused discussions and collaboration.” The videos average at about seven minutes each. Taught by top AP instructors from around the country, the videos offer a summary of in-class content. Students can access the videos on any device using their AP Classroom. 

AP Daily is similar to the Youtube livestreams college board launched last spring in an effort to help students prepare for online AP testing. However, AP Daily is significantly shorter compared to the forty five minute lectures on the Youtube live streams, though this could be because at the beginning of the school year, there is less content to review. 

Miramonte teachers have been utilizing the new platform. AP Chemistry teacher Jamie Bascom recommends it to all her students. “For AP chemistry, I have a table on Canvas with all of the AP Daily videos linked. We haven’t used class time to watch the videos but I’ve been taking questions and content from the videos and incorporating them into our lessons together,” Bascom said. 

College board made a special page with recommendations for how to best use AP Daily in the classroom. For example, in a hybrid learning environment, teachers can “assign videos as warm-ups, as a class lecture, in learning stations, for homework, or for review,” and in a fully online environment, they can “assign videos as student-driven learning along with topic questions,” or “as review for Personal Progress Checks.”

Students also find the videos helpful. “The videos are nice since they summarize the basic points of each topic for any course,” senior Catherine Lan said. 

The videos are organized in units, and each unit is released separately. As the year progresses, more units will be added along with new videos. By the time AP tests roll around in May, students will be fully equipped to take them.

Zoom school presents a whole new set of problems, and students are left scrambling. But the education system is also coming up with a new set of solutions from testing to test prep. So, are you looking for a little extra support in distance learning? Do you have a math test coming up? An in-class essay? AP Daily may just be your seven minute solution!